Ger vsTun.. where were the defects?

[scorpion2a]

15 mins of brilliant football secured us a victory that wasn't very sure. After a crippled 1st half the Germans finally knew where were the defects and corrected them. Please post here your comments about the German points of weakness and strength.

[Guday]

15 mins of brilliant football secured us a victory that wasn't very sure. After a crippled 1st half the Germans finally knew where were the defects and corrected them. Please post here your comments about the German points of weakness and strength.


1) Hitzpelberger can't pass, period.
2) Frings can't be the holding DM, he was not covering enough ground. Try Ernst or Borowski and but reasssign him to replace Hitz.
3) Since youth is the buzzword and therefore keeper rotation should involve Timo boy too, why not. To his own credit, Lehman did well too today.
4) Deisler should continue to play first 11 and Kuranyi should be ahead of Asamoah.

I don't think it was brilliant football mate. It is just one of the game where 2 teams play 50-50 but the other have the goalsay, in this case a little bit too flattering.

[Theo]

Weakness - We need a good DM. Frings was absolute crap today
Strength - Half of the team is under 22 --> Huth, Mertesacker, Hanke, Podolski, Schweinsteiger

[scorpion2a]

I may agree with Guday but with some reservations.
I didn't say that the Germans played brilliant football all the match. Nope, U misunderstood me man. I meant they played brilliant 15 minutes.
I think Asamoah's problem is that he took important positions in the field and so other German colleagues spread away to leave him his space. Unfortunately he couldn'tuse this room because of his low talent. Strength isn't everything. Skill comes first. Thats why I think Kuranyi is better. And I was glad Klinsmann realized that.
Our Left side was a mess (on the contrary to the first game). In exactly 22 confrontations between Trabelsi and Schweinsteiger, Trabelsi won 20 times the ball!!! That's not very nice. As Gerry here predicted, the main penetration came from the our left front. And even when Hitz was ordered to stay back he couldn't cover. So Klinsmann had to bring in Ballack and Huth for help on that front, which inturn opened our center. Anyway, I stick with Klinsmanns choices. Hitz in the LB is a forced situation since we have all our LBs injured!! (Lahm, Schultz, Pander)
Frings couldn't cover the gap in the center between our backline and our midfield. Frings isn't the player for the Rhombus like strukture of the middle four in the 4-4-2 formation. Better bring in Ernst or Borowsky or even Hamann (If Klinsmann decides to bring him back one day).
Huth isn't a very skillful defender. He makes alot of silly mistakes and charges naive fouls in dangerous spots. I said that ages ago along with my friend here Ballack13. This tournament proved us to be right. But I can understand why Klinsmann picks him over others. Because he's very fit, fast and strong.

[Schwalker]

Is 3-5-2 no longer an option?

[palmerq]

Huth isn't a very skillful defender. He makes alot of silly mistakes and charges naive fouls in dangerous spots. I said that ages ago along with my friend here Ballack13. This tournament proved us to be right. But I can understand why Klinsmann picks him over others. Because he's very fit, fast and strong.He's a bloody monster though, the guy is huge, he is still very young though and maybe he will get better with playing more games, as he doesn't get many at chelsea at all. Right now I don't think he's very good in the mental sense of defending at all.

[The Exchanger]

there are a lot of problems in the german national team.. klinsmann doesnt have a lot of options in this tournament.. but i think :

1) Schweinsteiger can play on the left side of defence instead of hitz.. (magath played him as a left defender this season sometimes and he was good)
2) Borowski should play in defensive midfield cause he is faster , stronger in the air and has more stamina than frings
3) Kuranyi should pair with Podolski in the first 11

so.. for me the best formation is : Kahn - Schweinsteiger , Huth , Mertesacker , Friedrech - Deisler , Borowski , Ballack , Schneider - Kuranyi , Podolski

[Mertesacker]

Schweinsteiger's creativity and good passing are needed in the offense.

[Gerry_BMG]

The main problem was the piss-water they sold as beer yesterday. Pahhh!!!!
But the good atmosphere made up for it.

Bad: Deisler, Hitz, Asamoah
Average: Podolski, Schweini, Huth, Mertesacker, Friedrich, Frings
Good: Ballack

I watched Huth and Mertesacker more carefully and the main difference between them is that Mertesacker anticipades situations while Huth just reacts to them. That is Huths main problem as I see it now, besides playing more "carefully".

The biggest disappointment for me was Deisler. He tried to do something but except one good cross and one nice pass to Friedrich he did ****e.
But the team stood closer together and the room for combinations was smaller. Frings was much better than against Australia, but still not at his best. I see this game, although overall I think it was a bit dissappointing offensive-wise, as a step forward concidering the defensive behaviour.

On another note, I hope that wednesday Ronaldinho will play... that would be awesome to see him live and compare him to the german players I saw live now :laugh:rolleyes:

[Coldplay]

Out of the options we have now, plus the two players i really want the team to have(Kehl and Metzelder).....the best team will be :

Kahn- Hinkel,Friedrich,Mertesacker,Engelhardt-Deisler,Kehl,Ballack,Schweinsteiger- Kuranyi,Podolski

Again, why Brdaric and Owomoyela are still in the squad is a mystery. Putting Engelhardt on the LB may not be a bad try......

[scorpion2a]

1) Schweinsteiger can play on the left side of defence instead of hitz.. (magath played him as a left defender this season sometimes and he was good)

Yeah yeah.. and lose one hell of an attacker. Schweinsteiger was one of the major striking elements in our offence group. We can't afford to lose him.
Besides, he ain't that good of a defender. In exactly 22 encounters between him and Trabelsi (RB of Ajax and Tunis) Schweini got the ball only twice. The dual was fierce Trabelsi was sooo skillful and passed repeatedly.. He lead dangerous assaults on our leftside. On the other hand not a single German serious attack could penetrate the Tunisian right front (where Trabelsi was always there). Trabelsi completely shut down our left midfield! What will we do when we face the likes of Zanetti, Cafu, Nivelle and Puyol. God damn I miss Lahm! :woot

[scorpion2a]

7 goals in 2 matches.. 6 different scorers. Ballack, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, Kuranyi, Mertesacker, Hanke. Do U guys think we still have an attacking problem?

[Timonator]

7 goals in 2 matches.. 6 different scorers. Ballack, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, Kuranyi, Mertesacker, Hanke. Do U guys think we still have an attacking problem?
NOT AT ALL :laugh

Now the defence is the problem, but I think it will be solved when all the injured people come back...Lahm, Metzelder, Hamann...:USA_Blue

[Ballack13]

What I want to know is what does Hinkel have to do to get some playing time???

Adios to Hitz, this guy looks pretty out of position and his passing is way poor. Frings should replace him there.

[Mertesacker]

Well, Hinkel was sooo bad this season he doesn'T even deserve to be in the squad.

[Coldplay]

Well, Hinkel was sooo bad this season he doesn'T even deserve to be in the squad.


U got it wrong here...after the winter break, his performance has definitely improved. I won't say its a "bad season" for him. In the second half of bundesliga 04/05 he id not out of form at all.

[scorpion2a]

What I want to know is what does Hinkel have to do to get some playing time???
Adios to Hitz, this guy looks pretty out of position and his passing is way poor. Frings should replace him there.
We have a problem here.. two great Right Backs, which one should play? Friedrich vs Hinkel will sure be a spike in Klinsmanns ass.. specially after Friedrich refuses to play as a CB. He wants to play in the RB just like in Hertha where he had a great season.
But next game against Argentina it won't be a problem cuz Friedrich is suspended. 90% Hinkel will be his substitute.
There were rumors that Klinsmann wants either Schneider or Frings to play as RB, to add to the experience of the back four. But I think it will be a waste of talent.
If we Germans lament so much about the inexperience of the CBs we have then why did we depend on Woerns-Nowotny for so long without preparing the right replacements.

[Guday]

Friedrich refuses to play as a CB. He wants to play in the RB just like in Hertha [/B].


The problems are the fact that these young and not so young guys have attitudes obviously, they like to be a goal scorer in every matches thus nobody wants to be a boring stick-to-his man type of defender. Gone are the days when we have the likes of Kohler and Eilts(a superb DM workhose) who prioritised team objective over personal glory.

Frings for instance made it publicly known several times that he refuses to be a defender cum winger at both Bayern and the national team. He claimed that he is he is best suited for the holding DM or the star playmaker that requires more talents and demands much higher workrate - both of which he is not.

Friedrich looks okay as a winger but Hinkel on form is a better candidate. He is too tall to be a nippy winger. Now the team needs a more capable centre-back and Friedrich should consider this over his own preference.

[bastian]

Hitz was terrible , he cant make a single good pass, so was asamoah , this fuker cant even hold the ball with his feet ..... schweni wasnt good he always was double marked....frings improved , but IMO he's just out of form and he's better in the DM than winger , agree with him when he says his best position is DM(against brazil he was oustanding in that position),huth also improved considering that in the first game he was quite bad... poldi needs to try more things like dribbling and passing like the assist for the second goal instead just passing the ball...he can do things happen cos he got the talent. deisler showed his ability to cross , but he needs to be more involved in the game .

[scorpion2a]

Deisler didn't discover his own glorious form yet. I'm sure he's got more. Poldi & Schweini hadn't shown their full potentials either.
It's up to Germany's three golden boys (Deisler, Schweinsteiger & Podolski) to prove their fame wasn't out of smoke.